Money can't buy Love
by laughs I moved to a new thing
Summary: Yuki Benika is a normal girl living a normal life in modern day U.S. Until she wakes up one morning outside the Akatsuki base. What happens when she meets a certain masked member? Will she make it back to her real life? If so, how? CC is encouraged.
1. Birthday

_**This is a story of my OC Yuki Benika being magically transported to the Naruto world. I used the naes of three of my best friends(Jenn, Emma, and Kirsten), and the boys(Drew and Nick) are up from my imagination. Enjoy and review!!!!~ CC stands for Constructive Criticism. I didn't have enough room to out that in the summary, so I just put my abbreviation. =D Enjoy!~**_

_Money can't buy love_

_Chapter 1: Birthday_

"Wake up, sleepy head!" my mother sang. It was my birthday. Not just my birthday, but my eighteenth birthday. It was a huge deal to her, and since I was the oldest child, she wanted this to be extra special. Oh, boy. "Come on down when you're completely awake, and I'll make you a special breakfast."

The early summer sunlight was bright against my eyes, which had just emerged from the darkness behind my eyelids. I rolled on my side and looked up at my mom. Her long, caramel colored hair was tied back in a loose ponytail, and her dark brown eyes were lit up with happiness. I smiled. She was always the type of person that made those around her happy, too, and that was one of the many things I loved about her.

She walked out the door, leaving me to get dressed for the day. It was always a stressful day on any birthday, but my eighteenth? It was so much! It meant I was old enough to live on my own, and get married to my wonderful boyfriend, Drew. I knew he was here, because I heard him say, very clearly, "So, Mrs. Benika, when's Yuki coming down?"

I giggled at the thought. He was so sweet, and just plain funny. He always made me laugh. And not only did he have a wonderful personality, he was really cute, too. He had dark gold eyes, which were rather unusual, and brownish-reddish hair that was always falling in his face. Everyone pestered him about getting a haircut, but he flat-out refused. I had to take his side, just for the simple fact that I wouldn't be able to bear seeing it gone.

I walked down the stairs into the living room, which was decorated with white and light blue balloons, and streamers of all colors. There was a huge banner tied on either side of the room that said 'Happy Birthday Yuki!' It almost made me want to run over to my mom and hug her like I was five years old again.

"So what do you think?" Drew asked as he came over to me and wrapped his arm around my waist and squeezed me gently in a single armed hug.

"I love it so much!" I said sincerely. "Oh, thank you everyone! I love you all so much!"

My mom was wrapped in my dad's arms, and they both smiled warmly at me. My best friends, Jennah, Emma, and Kirsten, walked over to me with huge smiles on their faces. My best guy friend—aside from Drew—whose name was Nick, was walking a little too close to Emma, allowing me to assume that they were together.

"Happy birthday, Yuki!" Jennah said with a huge smile on her face. She ran over to me and gave me a big friendly hug.

I laughed, hugging her back. "Thanks, Jenn."

After the cake, which was really pretty—it had light blue frosting and tiny white roses all over it—I opened my presents. I felt like a little kid the whole time. At least I didn't have to wear the goofy party hat.

I got a card that said 'Happy birthday, my lovely Yuki! I hope you have a wonderful day! Sincerely, Drew." from Drew, a gift card for iTunes from Emma, a hat from Kirsten, a small laptop from Jenn, A card with a gift certificate to my favorite bookstore from my mom, a card with a gift certificate to my favorite store, Hot Topic, from my dad, a mixed CD of my favorite bands from Nick, and a bunch of my many favorite manga series from my friends altogether.

"Thank you so much, everyone! I love you all!" I said, ecstatic.

After we talked for a little while, my mom said, "Why don't you kids all go to the mall for a while? I don't care if you don't want to, we're all making you go, so go!"

I laughed, "Mom. Relax. Are you sure you want us to go? I mean, it's my birthday, and all, so don't you think I should stay home?"

"No. You're going whether you like it or not." my mom said demandingly, "take your car, and go!"

"Yes, ma'am!" I saluted jokingly as my friends and I walked out the door.

Drew led me to my car, and took his rightful place in the passenger seat, while I sat in the driver's seat. Jenn sat in the seat behind me, Emma sat behind Drew, and Kirsten sat between them. Nick said that he had to go back home, so he was fine with not getting a seat.

We drove into town, listening to my new CD, without talking. It took about half an hour to get there, but I guess that's what you get for living out in the country.

Drew got out and stretched. He opened my door for me, and I got out. Emma, Kirsten, and Jenn got out from the back seat, and we walked into the mall.

"Ooh, let's go to Hot Topic!" Jenn said enthusiastically.

I laughed, "Okay! I'm all for that! But first…"

"What's up, Yuki?" Drew asked, obviously worried about me.

"First… I wanna do this!" I said as I turned from my place next to Drew with my hand clasped in his, and stood in front of him. I stared him in the eye for a minute, which was hard, because he was almost six and a half feet tall, while I was only just over five and a half feet. Of course, he was older than I was. Anyway, I looked him in the eye, giggled a little, and attack-hugged him. "I love you," I mumbled, my face buried in the collar of his jacket.

I could tell he was smiling, too, when he said, "I love you, too."

After that little 'scene', we went to Hot Topic. Emma and Kirsten said that they didn't really want to go into Hot Topic, and that their mothers probably wouldn't want them to, so they said they would be in the store DEB until Jenn, Drew and I came to find them.

We looked around the little store for about twenty minutes, until Jenn said, "Oh, my goodness, isn't this so pretty, Yuki? It would look so good on you!" She held up a choker necklace that had black roses hanging down from it. It had many onyxes on the strap, and she was right—it was really pretty.

"Oh, it is, but I don't think I have enough money for it." I said honestly, knowing before I even looked at the price that I didn't have enough money to buy it. Then I remembered that my dad had gotten me a gift certificate for this store for my birthday, "Well, I have that gift certificate from my dad, but—"

"It's okay, Yuki. I'll buy if for you. A second birthday present." Drew said as he took it from my hands gently, and grasped my hand, leading me to the check-out counter. The lady at the register looked at him with a flirtatious look on her face, but she saw my hand in his, and she was obviously crushed. I almost laughed, but thought it best if I held it in. She was pretty, though. She had long, wavy blond hair, and deep blue eyes. She wore a black sweatshirt that was left unzipped over a midnight blue tank top with black skinny jeans.

"Hello, did you find everything alright?" she asked.

Drew nodded and handed her the necklace, "I'd like to buy this. How much is it?"

She took the necklace from Drew and rang it up, "That'll be twenty dollars."

Drew handed her the money, and took the necklace back from the lady at the check-out. She put it in the cash register, and said, "Have a nice day."

Drew nodded to her and led me out of the store. Once we were out, he told me to turn around and hold my hair out of the way. He unwrapped the necklace, and I felt it on my neck. He clasped it, and I thanked him for buying it for me and putting it on.

"What was that all about?" I asked Drew after a few minutes of walking around.

"What was what about?" Drew asked back.

"In Hot Topic! You were so rude, and I've never seen that side of you before! I—"

"Yuki… I had to. She was trying to seduce me into leaving you, and you know I'd never be able to do that. I love you, and nobody else. You are the only one for me." Drew looked me square in the eyes.

"Drew, I—"

"Please. Let me finish. I didn't want to say anything in front of you to her, so I said nothing at all, unless I was forced to. I love you, Yuki, and I really hope you feel the same about me."

"I do, but what does this have to do with you being rude to that lady?"

"Weren't you paying any attention to what I just said? She was trying to seduce me!" he threw his hands up in the air dramatically. "Man, I wish you weren't so inattentive sometimes!"

"Well, you know what?" I was raising my voice a little now, causing a scene, "Maybe we should just have some time off!"

"Time off? What the heck does that mean?"

"It means that I think we should break up for a little while! I mean, we've been fighting on and off for a long time, and I just think that it would be a good idea…" I began to blush a little, but that may have been from the many people who were now watching our little quarrel.

"Fine!" he said loudly.

"Fine!" I said just as loud.

I just looked in Drew's direction as he walked away from where Jenn and I stood.

"Jenn…. I'm so sorry you had to see that…" I apologized.

"It's okay. And don't apologize. It's not your fault he's a complete moron. Anyway, I was about to go find Kirsten and Emma, but I could tell that you would want some type of moral support, so I stayed." Jenn said as she gave me a huge friendly hug, "C'mon. Let's go find the other two."

I smiled at her, happy that she was here, "Okay. They said that they'd be in DEB until we came to find them."

Jenn and I walked to DEB without speaking. We finally got to the store after about five minutes or so, and when we found the other two, Emma said immediately, "Where's Drew?"

"I'll explain later." Jenn said. "I think we should go. Yuki's been through a lot these past few minutes."

I just looked down at my black converse shoes, knowing deep down in my heart that it was the right thing to do, but yet it felt so wrong. I never knew exactly how he was, but now I knew. He was much to overprotective, and it was the cause of our fight just minutes before. The only reason for it—the fight—was his overprotectiveness, and it made me think again about the necklace. Sure, it was very pretty, but it had a lot of memories, even though I'd only had it for a few minutes. It had the memories of Drew and how much of a jerk he could be sometimes. I'd never seen that side of him before, but when I did see it, it made me think about how he was before when he was very similar to that.

"Oh, Yuki, I wish he wasn't like that! You're way too awesome for him, anyway. C'mon. Let's go over to Nick's house. I think he'd want to see you and comfort you. He's your friend, too, you know." Emma said as she gave me a sympathetic look.

I nodded and smiled sadly a little, "Thanks, guys. I love you all! As a friend, of course."

They gave me a huge group hug, "We love you, too!"

We were very giggly on the way to Nick's house. On my part, however, it was all an act. I was trying to mask the torture Drew had put me through. We simply talked about nothing in particular, until I said, "Emma. Back at my house, you seemed very close to Nick. I was just wondering if you two were, you know… going out?"

"What—? Of course not! Besides, I have a boyfriend already, remember? Jeremy, from that gas station, and who we had Social Studies with back when we were in the eighth grade?"

"Oh, him?" I asked in disbelief, "Why? No, never mind. Forget I said anything."

"But… why?" Emma asked.

"No reason. I was simply wondering." I said, a little restrained.

We got into my car and drove in silence. I didn't feel in the mood to listen to anything, except our shallow breathing, and the voice in my head telling me that I'd just made a huge mistake.

"What's wrong, Yuki?" Jennah said from the passenger seat. She sounded really concerned.

"Nothing." I said simply.

"Yea, right! You were really quiet like this when we went to get Kirsten and Emma from DEB. You're never quiet, unless there's something wrong. So talk!"

I sighed, "There's nothing wrong. I… just don't feel in the mood to talk, is all."

"Yuki, you're always in the mood to talk, whether there's something wrong or not!" Kirsten piped up from behind Jenn. It wasn't until now that I'd realized she was unusually quiet, as well and I was.

I was starting to get angry, "There is nothing wrong. Now would you stop pestering me?"

We continued driving in silence for several more minutes, until Kirsten said, "Um, Yuki? Would you mind just dropping me off here? I need to get something for my mother, and I don't live far from here."

I pulled up to the curb next to the gas station, "Sure."

"I just remembered that I need to get something for my parents, too. I'll just get out and walk with her." Emma said.

"Do you need to get something, too, or may I leave now?" I asked Jenn bitterly.

"No, I don't." Jenn answered.

We drove in silence until we got to Nick's.

"Hey, Yuki, where's Drew? Didn't he go with you guys?" Nick asked when we drove up.

"Yes, he did, but he said he needed to go, so I'm assuming he got a ride form someone else." I answered as Jenn and I got out of the car.

"And Emma and Kirsten had to get something at the store for their parents." Jenn added.

"Oh." Nick said, seeming a little confused. "Well, Yuki, would you mind telling me what happened?"

"That's the reason we came here." I said. I told him everything that had happened, and he gasped in shock.

"That's horrible! So, just to clarify, you broke up with him?" Nick said when I had finished.

"We didn't break up; we're taking some time off." I said. "And I think this is one thing that is going to stay set in stone."

Nick just stared at me, "So… you think you're gonna stay single for a while? Until you find someone worthy, so to speak, of your other-halfness?"

I giggled a little, "Nick, you're such a goof! But, yes, I believe that Drew and I are going to stay apart for a while. It just didn't work out, once I saw what he was like about me."

"So! Should we go into your house, Nick? It's getting kinda cold out here, and I didn't bring a jacket." Jenn said, her arms wrapped around her.

"Right. Neither did Yuki, by the looks of it. C'mon. Let's go on in." Nick said.

"Oh, I can't, it being my birthday and all. I'm sorry. I'll come by tomorrow, okay?" I said, remembering that I had to get home earlier than usual. On any other day, my parents would be glad to get me out of the house. But it just had to be my birthday, didn't it?

"Oh… okay. I'll see you around, Yuki." Jenn and Nick said at the same time. They both blushed, looked at each other, and blushed even harder.

"Yep. Bye." I said as I turned and got into my car. I drove the few miles to my house, listening to my new CD.

_I like you the way you are, when you're talking to me, one on one, but you've become somebody else, around everyone else. You're watching your back, like you can't relax. You're trying to be cool, you look like a fool to me. Tell me: Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated? I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else, it gets me frustrated. Life's like this, you, you fall, and you crawl, and you break, and you take, what you get, and you turn it into honestly and promise me that you're never gonna take it...._

The chorus of the song that I was listening to made me think of Drew and how much better I would be without him. Then, I rethought. It made me see that I would be better if I wasn't even in this world. It made me wish that I could be whisked away to another world. To a manga world. To the world of my all-time favorite manga. To the Naruto world. I sighed. If only that really could happen. Maybe in a dream world, but not real life. That's what this was. Real life. Not a dream world. If it were a dream world, life would be perfect. I wouldn't have had that fight with Drew. I wouldn't be in this mess if I could have been born into a dream world.

I drove to my house, not thinking about anything but the lyrics of the music.

"Yuki, where's Drew?" my mother asked when I walked through the door.

"We had a fight. I told him I thought we needed to take a break. He stormed off, and Jenn and I went over to Nick's for a few minutes. She's still over there. I drove home by myself. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to go to my room for a while. I'm not feeling very good at the moment." I explained. I didn't wait for her to answer—I wasn't feeling good enough to.

I ran upstairs to my room and flopped onto my bed. I grabbed a volume of Naruto that I got earlier that week, from someone I worked with. I read it in half an hour, and after that, I just laid there and cried for who-knows-how-long, until I fell asleep. I'd never cried myself to sleep before—I never needed to. But I guess there's a first time for everything.

I dreamed of being whisked away to the world of ninjas, fighting, blood, sweat, and tears—the world of Naruto. Meeting Sasuke Uchiha's older brother, Itachi Uchiha, who had massacred his entire family just to test his skills, so he claimed. I dreamed of meeting the Akatsuki—the notorious S-ranked criminals who strived for world domination, and to do that, they had to extract the biju, or tailed beasts, from their hosts, called jinchuriki—and just being away from this life.

I woke with a shiver.  
_  
What the—? What in the world's going on?!_ I thought as I sat up. I had no recognition of where this place was, or how I got here. I don't remember this place at all! _Why—? Why did this happen? Arg! So frustrating! If only there were someone here who I could ask what was going on! Someone I knew!_

Then, like clockwork, I heard a rustling in the bushes. I was frozen in fear, but I could sense that whoever it was meant no harm. A man came out of the bushes. He had silver hair that was slicked back, and very interesting eyes. They were… magenta?

**_Okay, so, the song used was Complicated by Avril Lavigne, and it belongs to her not me._**

**_yea, so, review please, and as stated in the summary, CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS ENCOURAGED!!!!!!!~_**


	2. Mysterious Encounters

_**Chapter 2.**_

_Money can't buy love_

_Chapter two: Myserious Encounters_

"Hey, Kakuzu! Come look at what I found!" he said. His voice was deep, and had a familiar ring to it.

Just then, I saw a man whose face was completely covered by a mask.

"… What is your name?" said the masked one.

"My… my name?" I asked stupidly. I didn't care. I was in too much awe, wonder, and fright to care.

"That is what I asked you, isn't it?" he asked.

"My name…. My name is Yuki Benika." I said, a little hesitant to tell them who I was. "Now that I've told you who I am, who are you two?"

"I am known as Kakuzu." the masked one, Kakuzu, said, "And this is my brat of a partner, Hidan."

_Those names sound awfully familiar._ I thought. That was when I remembered what Naruto volume I was reading before I fell asleep. Volume __. At the part where two members of the Akatsuki were in Kumogakure, the village hidden in the clouds, to capture the two-tailed beast. The Niibi.

"Well? What do we do now?" Hidan asked, looking a little bored.

"Excuse me, but, um, would you mind telling me what you are on your way to go do?" I asked, very freaked out about where I was.

"We are going to Kumogakure to fetch the two-tailed Niibi." Kakuzu said.

"Hey! Why'd you tell her?" Hidan complained. "She could be working undercover for the Missing Ninja Tracking Unit!"

"She is no threat to us. We have the ability to rid her of our possession if we had the desire. But I am able to tell, by the way that you look at her, you wish that I do not, and I respect your thoughts, no matter how strange and harebrained they may be." Kakuzu explained.

Hidan looked violated. I felt immensely scared out of my wit's mind. They could kill me if they wanted to. And I from what I knew about Kakuzu, if he killed me, he would take my heart for himself. I didn't want that to happen, but then again, who would?

"So what do we do with her, then?" Hidan asked.

"I suppose we take her with us to Kumogakure to capture the Niibi." Kakuzu answered in a monotone. He looked at me, "And simply watch, and hope that the Niibi doesn't see her and kill her."

_What?! Why?! Why would they want to take me?! I'm just a normal girl from America! What can I do?_ I thought, still very scared about what was going on. _Well, this is probably just a dream. I'll wake up from it sooner or later. I may as well go with them. It's better than dying, I guess, even if it is a dream._

"Well?" Kakuzu asked.

"I'm sorry?" I had no idea what he had said minutes before. I was too lost in thought.

"I asked you what you're doing here." Kakuzu said, as if I was supposed to know that.

"Oh!" I said, shocked. "I…. I honestly have no idea. I fell asleep in my world, and woke up here. Then, you two showed up."

"Wow!" Hidan said, "So you come from another world? Cool!"

"Hidan! Keep it together, you idiot!" Kakuzu snapped. He turned to me, "So… you don't know how you got here, or where you are?"

"No, I don't." I said simply. "Not a clue."

Kakuzu thought for a minute, "Interesting. Hidan, I think we should keep her around. She may be of some use to us."

If I thought I was scared a minute ago, that was nothing. I was deathly afraid now. Two S-ranked criminals from the world of Naruto were going to 'keep me around' because I 'may be of some use' to them. I shuddered, and I was pretty sure they saw that, but ignored me.

"Um…" I said quietly. The two shinobi looked at me, "Just wondering aloud here, but, um… why are you, um, keeping me around, and not, uh, killing me?"

They looked at each other, "Well, uh, Kakuzu, why don't you tell her?" Hidan said.

Kakuzu sighed, "Fine. We are keeping you around because you may be useful to the Akatsuki."

My eyes got wide. _The Akatsuki? Oh, crap. _

"Hey, Kakuzu, where the heck is Kimiko? I haven't seen her since she went to scope out the area, leaving us to find _her_." Hidan said as he gestured to me. I felt myself blushing.

"She will be here in…" Kakuzu began. There was a rustling in the bushes, "Now."

"Hey, Hidan! Who the heck's this?"

"Uh…" I said, extremely confused and scared about all of this. I had no idea who she was, and why I hadn't seen her in the manga. She had long—very long—silverish hair that was pulled back into two ponytails in the back of her head. She had eyes as black as night, and looked at Hidan as if they were in love, or something. Then she ran over to Hidan and stood there hugging him for what had to have been five minutes or so. Kakuzu and I simply watched in astonishment, and on my part, longing and slight disgust.

"She is Yuki Benika. She says that she is not from around here." Kakuzu said, breaking the silence.

"Well, then, where's she from?" Kimiko asked, breaking away from Hidan, but he still had his arm around her waist.

"Well, Yuki, why don't you tell Kimiko your story?" Kakuzu asked. It sounded more like a demand than a question.

I gulped, afraid to tell them my whole story, "Well…. I'd gotten home after I went to the mall with my friends, and after I had a fight with my boyfriend. I ran up to my room, read some manga, then cried myself to sleep. After I dreamed for a while, I woke up here. That is all."

"Hey! The story you told Kakuzu and me was completely different!" Hidan said loudly. "What gives?!"

"Hidan. Relax." Kimiko said, "It's probably 'cause I'm a girl, and she probably feels a little more comfortable around those of her own gender. Is that true?"

I nodded my head. I was prepared to talk as little as possible now—as I did when I was either scared, shocked, feeling a little awkward, or all of the above; in this case, it was all of the above.

Kimiko broke away from Hidan, and came over to kneel next to where I was, careful to keep her distance. "A fight with your boyfriend? That's terrible! Would you tell me about it?"

I shook my head. I would have told her, but we were around other people, who were S-class criminals. It just didn't feel right. "Maybe later." I whispered, just quiet enough that only she would hear.

Kimiko giggled, and smiled. "Okay." she whispered back, just as quiet.

"Not talking now, are you?" Kakuzu asked, a little skeptical.

"Leave her alone, Kakuzu!" Kimiko said, a little loudly. She was the only person I knew, even though I didn't know her very well and aside from Hidan, that would stand up to Kakuzu.

I stared at him. I wasn't able to see his face, due to the mask covering his head, except his eyes, which were a strange shade of green—a slight neon. Despite that simple fact, he seemed… stressed. Like he had something very important to do, that I was keeping him from.

There was an awkward silence in the clearing we were in.

"So…" Hidan said, breaking the silence, "Now what, Kakuzu?"

"Now, we go to Kumogakure. And fetch the Niibi. The Two-tailed beast." Kakuzu answered.

"That part I get, but what are we supposed to do with_ her_?" Hidan asked, as he pointed to me. I blushed a little.

"One of us must take her on our back. Kimiko is out of the question,"—Kimiko looked like she wanted to kill him—"so that leaves either you or myself. Chances are, you will try your hardest to get out of it, so I suppose that leaves me."

My eyes got wide upon hearing this, and I blushed a little harder. _Oh no, oh no. I have to go piggy-back on an S-class criminal's back. The one that takes peoples' hearts, no less! Why me? Why why why?!_ I thought, as I finally realized what I had to do. I, a simple, small-town girl from the United States, had to ride on the back of one of the most lethal member of the Akatsuki, a band of the most lethal shinobi in the world.

Now, I was scared. More scared than I'd ever been in my entire life.

**_Sorry about the shortness. I had writer's block. So, yea, let me know what you think of it!~ =D_**


End file.
